An elevator installation usually consists of a car and a counterweight, which are moved in opposite sense in an elevator shaft. The car and the counterweight are connected together and supported by means of a support belt.
One end of the support belt is in that case fastened by a belt end connection to the car or the counterweight, respectively, or in the elevator shaft. The location of the fastening is directed towards the form of construction of the elevator installation. The belt end connection accordingly has to transmit the force, which acts in the support belt, to the car or the counterweight, respectively, or to the elevator shaft. It has to be designed in such a way that it can securely transmit a required supporting force of the support belt. If the elevator installation also has to withstand a fire situation in the building, the belt end connection also has to endure increased temperatures.
In known constructions the support belt is fixed in a wedge pocket by means of a wedge. A first wedge pocket surface of the wedge pocket is in this connection constructed in correspondence with a direction of tension of the support belt. This first wedge pocket surface is arranged in the take-off direction of the support belt. A second wedge pocket surface of the wedge pocket is formed to be displaced relative to the first wedge pocket surface in correspondence with a wedge angle of the wedge. The support belt is now arranged between wedge pocket surfaces and wedge and it draws the wedge into the wedge pocket by virtue of the friction conditions, whereby the support belt is fixed. Obviously the supporting run of the support belt thus slides, whilst the support force is built up, along the first wedge pocket surface, whereagainst the loose run of the support belt experiences only a slight stretching movement in its position relative to the second wedge pocket surface. In the following the first wedge pocket surface is termed wedge pocket slide surface and the second wedge pocket surface is termed wedge pocket adhesion surface.
A belt end connection of that kind is known from European patent EP 1252086, in which the wedge pocket is constructed in such a manner that the wedge is strongly pressed in a region, whereby the pressing on the support belt takes place non-uniformly, ideally increasing in upward direction on the wedge pocket slide surface with respect to the side remote from the entry point of the support belt. A disadvantage of this construction is that the support belt is subjected in the regions of increased pressing to a very strong punctiform loading, which can have a disadvantageous effect on the service life of the support belt.